Saints Francis & Clare School Ministry Admission Policy Effective August 16, 2018 1. Purpose. It is the goal of the Saints Francis & Clare School Ministry to offer a Catholic education to any student who desires to attend. Because of the growth of the School Ministry since its inception in 2005, this Admission Policy has been established in the event that requests for admission exceed the capacity of the School Ministry in a particular grade level or levels. Mindful that the School Ministry is supported, financially and otherwise, by the parishioners of Saints Francis & Clare Parish, priority for admission and continued enrollment in the School Ministry will be given to children of Stewardship Families of Saints Francis & Clare Parish. The School Board of Directors and the Pastor have approved this admission policy. Once recommended by the School Board of Directors and ratified by the Pastor, revision of this policy shall supersede any prior admission policy of the School Ministry. 2. Class Size. The School Ministry currently limits its class size as follows: a. Infants total of 4 infants per 1 staff (this number may be made up of fulltime children or the equivalent number of part-time children who make up one full-time slot). b. Toddler Francis (12-24 months) total of 4 toddlers per 1 staff (this number may be made up of full-time children or the equivalent number of part-time children who make up one full-time slot). c. Toddler Clare (24-36 months) total of 6 toddlers per 1 staff (this number may be made up of full-time children or the equivalent number of parttime children who make up one full-time slot). b. Preschool total of 20 per class (this number may be made up of full-time students or the equivalent number of part-time students who make up one full-time slot). b. Kindergarten through Eighth Grade total of 25 students per class. 3. Accommodation of Students with Special Needs. The School Ministry strives to accommodate students with physical, emotional, social or learning challenges. However, families must fully disclose the nature and known extent of such challenges at the time of registration. The School Ministry has limited resources to meet certain challenges and may recommend educational alternatives that may better serve the needs of some students.
4. Non-Discrimination. All schools operated by schools and parishes under the guidance of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. The schools do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs 5. Definitions. a. Returning Family: A family is considered a Returning Family if the family has a student currently enrolled at Saints Francis & Clare School Ministry (Infants through Eighth Grade) and who has met the responsibility of paying school tuition charges for the current year in full and on time as prescribed by the School Ministry. In addition, the re-enrolling student(s) must have a satisfactory disciplinary record (according to the standards established by the School Ministry). b. New Family: A family is considered a New Family if the family does not have a student currently enrolled in the School Ministry. c. Stewardship Family: A family is considered a Stewardship Family if the family is a registered family with the parish and meets the criteria for Stewardship membership in Saints Francis & Clare Church as defined by the Pastoral Council in consultation with the Pastor. Because true stewardship involves the giving of time, talent and treasure for the overall good of our parish community, Stewardship membership is defined as follows: (i) Sharing in Eucharist with the parish community through attendance at weekend Mass; (ii) Sharing Time and Talent with the parish community by committing to a certain amount of service hours a year for the overall good of the parish; (iii) Sharing Treasure through the Sunday collection as a measure of giving back to the Lord for the blessings we have received. The Pastor will have the final decision as to whether a family s stewardship obligations are current. d. Active Non-Parishioner Family. A family is considered an Active Non- Parishioner Family if the family is registered in another Catholic parish or church and provides a letter from the Pastor of the family s church indicating that the family is in good standing with the church.
6. School Registration Process. a. Returning Families. Returning Families must complete the online Registration and submit the enrollment fee by the last day of the current family re-enrollment period. in order to ensure priority placement. b. New Families. New Families must complete the online registration and submit the enrollment fee by the last day of the end of the new family enrollment period. 7. Enrollment Prioritization. When requests for admission exceed the capacity of the School Ministry, the order of enrollment will be determined by the following prioritization until each applicable classroom is filled: a. Priority One. You are an SSFC employee enrolling a student in infants or higher. a. Priority Two. You are a Returning Family and a Stewardship Family reenrolling an existing student in infants or higher. b. Priority Three. You are a Returning Family re-enrolling an existing student in infants or higher. c. Priority Four. You are a Returning Family and a Stewardship Family enrolling a sibling of a child presently attending the School Ministry. d. Priority Five. You are a Returning Family enrolling a sibling of a child presently attending the School Ministry. e. Priority Six. You are a New Family and a Stewardship Family enrolling a child or children for the first time in infants or higher. f. Priority Seven. You are an Active Non-Parishioner Family enrolling a child or children for the first time in infants or higher. g. Priority Eight. You are a New Family enrolling a child or children for the first time in infants or higher. h. Priority Nine. You are enrolling a child who is receiving a state voucher or SGO scholarship for the upcoming school year who does not meet the criteria in Priorities One through Five. The School Commission shall determine the priority classification of a family and recommended admission status for all families who submit complete online registration by the above deadlines. In cases where prospective students have identical ranking based upon the priority set forth above and there are insufficient openings in a particular grade to accommodate all families within the same enrollment priority level, the determining factor will be the date the family joined Saints Francis & Clare Parish for Stewardship Families, if applicable. If not, the priority will be determined by lottery. This lottery, if needed, would take place on the first Monday after the new family enrollment period ends. This lottery, if needed, would take place during a public
meeting to be announced. In the event a particular grade is filled from the applicants who submitted timely and complete online registration, all remaining prospective students will be placed on a waiting list in order of the priority established under this policy. Any online registration that is not complete or not submitted by the above deadlines is not considered according to the priority established under this policy but is considered on a first come, first-served basis as of the date of submission of the complete online registration. If there are more complete online registrations submitted on a particular date than there are openings in a particular grade, the remaining openings will be determined by lottery. Saints Francis & Clare School Ministry reserves the right to un-enroll a student, if, at the end of the current school year, has a delinquent balance. This balance includes, but not limited to, tuition, enrichment, cafeteria, CYO fees. The Pastor will have final authority on admission(s). 8. Transfer Students. Students in good standing from another school will be considered for transfer admission after the following has been accomplished: a. Enrollment/Admission forms are completed. b. A conference with the principal, parents and student has been held to discuss the goals, religious mission and expectations of the School Ministry. c. If requested, the parents have provided a written statement indicating their reasons for seeking enrollment for their child in the School Ministry. d. Previous educational records have been supplied to the School Ministry including, if available and applicable: current grade transcript or report card, most recent standardized testing results, Individualized Education Plan (IEP), Service Plan, Section 504 Plan or Individual Catholic Education Plan (ICEP). e. If appropriate records are not available or if there are other educational concerns, the principal may require entrance testing of the child and direct consultation with the previous school to determine appropriate educational placement before admission is granted. f. Updated immunization records have been received. g. Applicants for admission to grades 6, 7 and 8 are generally scrutinized more closely than applicants for lower grades as educational preparation and disciplinary records at this level are of more concern to the School. NOTE: Catholic schools support the disciplinary decisions of other schools. Therefore, a student expelled from another private or public school may not be considered for enrollment until one year after the expulsion date and then only at the discretion of the Principal in consultation with the Pastor.
The student may be admitted either on a probationary basis or without restriction under the following conditions: if the Principal determines through the above procedures that the family and student have philosophies, goals and levels of preparation compatible with the religious mission and educational programs offered by the School Ministry, the student is likely to be successful in a Catholic educational setting, and an opening exists. Prioritization of placement of transfer applicants will occur in the same order and by the same criteria as defined in the Enrollment Prioritization structure defined above.